That Winter You Came (Completed)

Episode 19

Valentine's day was coming soon.
In high school valentine wasn't about love and showing genuine affection.
It was just a long competitive day where you lose if you didn't get a bar of chocolate. Where you're the luckiest girl if you got some.
Obviously i belonged to the first group in 2009.
Or so i thought.
I kept preparing lunch For Rayan everyday .. And i waited for him everyday at the fence too.
To people we were already a couple.
Thank god i had Yassmine by my side or else i would have been bullied all over again because i "stole" Rayan.
In reality .. We were nothing.
Really nothing.
Sometimes i found it very frustrating to keep lying to him and lying to my self.
Sometimes i say to my self that i already tried to leave. And it was him who wanted me to stay although he knew all the cruel things he did to me in the past. So how can't he know that i was only a smiling fox.
So i stayed for revenge.
In Friday just before valentine's .. Yassmine suddenly came in a visit to my house!
I was so surprised that i didn't know my head from my feet and acted around her as if i didn't know her.
My mother made her sit in the living room .. She brought her coffee and cookies and started to say:
_" i thought that Nadia had no friend because she never talked about you. And because she has such a poor and depressing character.. I always wondered how people handled with her. Even "i" - her mother- can't understand her"
Yassmine kept only moving her head between me and my mother not knowing what to say .. While i just smiled.
My mother will never change.
After torturing the poor girl for long minutes my mother finally let go of Yassmine and so i took her to my room.
After i closed the room door she gave me a sad look and said:
_" your mother is something"
I just nodded.
Not wanting even to talk about it.
Yassmine clapped her hands suddenly excited and shouted:
_" i came here today to give you free lessons in applying make up!!"
I was confused with her sudden impulse of femininity. So i asked:
_" why do you want me to learn how to put make up so passionately?"
She pointed to me to get closer to her .. And when i did she hushed:
_" i'm putting this  valentine surprise plan for Badro.. Since we have late morning classes tomorrow i decided to go surprise him in his highschool and i'm taking you with me!"
_" then, shouldn't it be better if i looked uglier?"
She gave me a painful pat on my shoulders and laughed:
_" of course not!! You must definitely look stunning! I heard that Imad is single for this valentine.. You're single too. It will be bothersome if Badro and i Celebrated Valentine while our besties didn't. I'm setting you both up together"
I looked at her .. I looked again.
And then i brought out the make up tools in light speed!
She spent hours teaching me basics. Especially the eye make up.. I trained until my fingers turned sour and shaky. And then we called the training done.
Yassmine was satisfied that she did her best with me.
When we  sat there the afternoon, she smiled and then said:
_" high school was difficult for me too you know?.. Before you i was always alone. You know Safa and Sirine from class 3?"
I nodded.
She smiled in mockery and said:
_" the three of us were best friends in middle school and then what happened is that i grolew up faster than them..  It's just that i have different genes. I grew taller and curvier than them and then one day a boy asked me out and i said yes"
I just kept looking at her. Not sure what expression i should make.
As a girl i envied Yassmine for so long and i hated her.
She's so beautiful that makes girls question their femininity. The kind of beauty she doesn't even need make up or fancy clothes to be admired.
Even Rayan who was glacial towards all girls has actually loved her.
But when i got closer to her .. And when i saw through her beautiful mask i liked what's inside better.
_" so in simple words, they just dumped you because they were jealous?" I asked.
She looked at me hysterically and said:
_" see how silly is that! .. And above of all of that they made up rumours about me saying i dated half the school. I only had one boyfriend before Rayan!"
I didn't even want to comment on that .. I believed those rumours too.
_" but we have each other now. Right?" I said.
She nodded smiling.
My only friend.
The next day And per the plan, the first thing i did was to put on my best clothes .. I applied make up like she taught me. And then i went to meet her by the bus station.
Once my eyes fell on Yassmine i couldn't but admit that Badro is so lucky.
She looked to die beautiful.
Once her eyes fell on me she urged me:
_" come on!! We need to be there so quick before school starts!!"
She then stopped a car and took us to badro's high school.
She looked really nervous but excited along the way. I just kept looking at the big box in her hands but didn't dare to ask what was in it.
I never was a nosy person .. And i wasn't planning to start being one.
So i just stood silent .. Observing her.
When the taxi finally came to a stop next to Badro's high school Yassmine jumped of the vehicle smiling hysterically.
_" do i look pretty?" She asked.
I gave her a reassuring nod and hushed:
_" so pretty"
_" ok" she rushed while looking around us nervously.
All the boys were staring at her astonished. In mere minutes .. Yassmine made all girls hate her and all boys adore her.
Only her can do that.
It wasn't until the bell almost rang that Badro finally showed up.
"Surprised" would be an understatement to Badro's state at that time.
He only kept staring at the both of us and then in a moment of wake up he ran towards us and took Yassmine in his embrace.
Not caring about morals not the students complaints.
The couple just kept hugging each other in the  cold weather. Heated by their emotions.
I didn't want to interrupt them so i just kept standing aside.
That's when Imad standing at the other end as well noticed me and he came to greet me:
_" hi Nadia. Long time no see"
I nodded with a smile and said:
_" sorry we attacked your school today. My friend was so excited for valentine"
Imad then gave me a charming smile and as he pushed his hair behind he said:
_" tell me about it .. My friend here was planning to attack your school too in lunch break . you just came ahead of us"
Imad had a long hair . so long he could hold it in a ponytail.. But he just put so much gel in it and pushed it off of his face.
And it was so dark that it felt like a black hole.
He had one silver earing in his left ear.
And he had thick eyelashes above his eyes that if he was a girl he wouldn't even need an eyeliner.
I was rounding his face when he suddenly said:
_" you became pretty"
I was so startled and surprised with his comment that i just nodded embarrassed.
_" oy! Let's take the girls to have fun!!" Badro suddenly shouted holding Yassmine's hand and already dragging her behind him.
_" are you skipping school?" Yassmine asked.
So Badro turned to look at her with a smile and said:
_" of course i'm skipping school! I don't get to see you everyday!"
Imad just looked at me shaking his head and hushed:
_" he's so excited that he didn't even notice he didn't greet you"
I just laughed and we both followed the crazy couple.
Since yassmine wasn't so generous to skip school too and we only had two hours before our lesson.
We couldn't have "fun" that much.
We only walked around town.. The boys bought cookies and chocolate for us and roses from the flower shop.
Although it was just a complimentary gift from Imad who didn't look like having any interest in me.
I wasn't interested in him in that way either.
And it was just valentine and we were young.
When we only had half an hour.. The boys finally decided to accompany us back to school.
I had no saying in that .. I only followed. Holding the rose i was given .. And the box of cookies and chocolate.
When the bus finally stopped and the 4 of us kept walking to school.
I had no idea that i would find Rayan waiting beside the fence!.. Checking his phone all time and looking excited.
It's not that i forgot we were supposed to meet at the fence everyday. It's just that i didn't expect him to be waiting for me with such anticipation.
I waited for him most of the time .. And in the few times he waited for me he looked so cold and careless that i said to my self " why would he wait for me if he was feeling so bothered!"
I didn't expect to see a totally different express looking at him from another angle.
Who said that the mirror had only one face?
We came from his back..
And we found him looking at the way that i usually take.
For some reason i didn't want him to see me with that group.
I loved him .. I hated him.
I wanted to hurt him.
But my heart just wished he didn't turn to look at me . i wished somehow i could split my body into two and then my other half would come from the road he was looking at and once i reach him i would say: " sorry, i'm late"
But that's impossible.
I tried to walk across him unseen but the boys were so loud that once we were close enough he turned to look at us.
And once he turned to look at us even a blind could see that his composure turned quickly and mercilessly grey.
And he didn't look at anyone else.. He only looked me right in my eyes .. With sad eyes.
Badro gave him one look and asked:
_" isn't this the brat who used to date you Yassmine and who gave Nadia a really hard time last year?"
Yassmine smelled problems right away. So she pushed Badro ahead of her and ordered:
_" it was a good day, don't ruin it now because of him. Let's just go"
But then Imad looked at him with a mockery smile and said:
_" so Nadia, this is the dude who wanted to punch you. Should i punch him for you?"

I couldn't lie and say he wasn't .. Or that he didn't say " if you weren't a boy .. I would have punched you" . because he did say that.
So i could only stand in front of Imad and say:
_" it's over, let's just go"
The boy who was standing behind me was just silent.
That silence before a storm.